


Halloween at the Haunted Arcade

by MadhouseVagabond



Series: When We Were Young [4]
Category: Achievement Hunter, Funhaus, Roosterteeth - Fandom
Genre: Arcade, Edgar the Cow - Freeform, Funhaus - Freeform, Halloween, Little AH, Mad King, achievement hunter - Freeform, roosterteeth, when we were young
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:46:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7836223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadhouseVagabond/pseuds/MadhouseVagabond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The AH Crew is celebrating Halloween and this year Geoff has a special surprise for them. But Geoff and his Crew are not prepared for what's about to happen, at the Haunted Arcade!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Halloween at the Haunted Arcade

Fall was here, bringing with it crisp weather, changing leaves, and the children of Roosterteeth Elementary School's favorite day of the season: Halloween!

For 9 year old Geoff and his Crew, this was a magical time of year. Everyone was planning their costume designs months in advance and stores were stalked full of candy to supply the neighborhood. Geoff loved Halloween, mostly cause he could eat as much candy as he wanted without pissing off his parents. He sat in the lunch room at he and his Crew's usual table with his best friends in the whole world, discussing their battle plan.

"Okay so first we hit up the Heyman's place cause they always have the best goods, then we make our way to the Burns' house cause Mr. Burnie has the best suckers this side of Texas, and then we move out from there in a cris-cross pattern, skipping every other house like last year," he explained, pointing at a hand drawn map of their neighborhood. The skipped houses had giant red X's on them, signifying no go zones. These houses offered lame stuff like peanuts, apples, and one even gave Jack a toothbrush one year. Geoff still wasn't sure if that was a cruel attempt at sarcastic humor or a straight up dick move on behalf of the Gibsons. 

The Crew, made up of 9 year old Jack and Ryan, Michael, Lindsay, and Ray age 8, and the youngest Gavin at age 7, nodded their approval. Ryan smirked up at Geoff.

"You know what you're going as yet?" he asked.

"No. Halloween's only fucking tomorrow. Of course I know what I'm going as idiot!" Geoff rolled his eyes.

"Language!" said Ray, Ryan and Lindsay at the same time, all smiling and trying not to laugh. 

"Fuck you guys," Geoff said smiling as well. They all joked and messed with each other. They were a family.

"Then after all that, meet me at Elm St, I have a surprise for you!" he said mysteriously. The others raised their eyebrows but said nothing. 

Finally the day came and all the children of the neighborhood gathered together in front of the school, ready to terrorize their neighborhood. Geoff found his Crew and they laughed at each other's costumes.

Geoff wore a pirate outfit with an outlandishly large mustache and an eyepatch. Jack was some sort of female no one could place. Ryan was dressed in his kilt and black button up shirt, his golden crown resting atop his head, a sword strapped to his side, and Edgar his stuffed Cow tucked safely under his arm.  
Ray looked like Waluigi and held a rose. Michael wore his bear head hoodie with his regular clothes. Lindsay was dressed as a black cat. And Gavin had on a blue shirt, a giant V with a top hat above it colored like the British flag.

"What the hell are you supposed to be Gavin?" asked Michael.

"I'm Vav! Superhero and defender of justice!" he said proudly. The others shrugged. 

"Who're you Michael?" asked Jack.

"I'm Mogar bitches!" Michael exclaimed and scowled to add effect.

"Language!" said Ryan and Ray. Michael rolled his eyes and flipped them the bird then smiled.

"I'm the Mad King," said Ryan, frowning for a second and giving Edgar and extra squeeze before smiling again.

"And I'm the Corpirate! Arrr!" said Geoff in his best pirate accent which was terrible. The kids laughed as they headed out on their quest for candy.

The evening progressed as planned, the Crew hitting up the best houses on the street to get candy from, and avoiding the houses that didn't like the plague. The kids laughed and joked the whole time. Finally after all the houses were looted, the Crew met up on Elm St to find out what Geoff's surprise was. The boy was smiling as he told them.

"My mom gave me enough money for us to hang out at the Arcade for at least two hours!" he said. The Crew's eyes lit up and excitement filled each of them. The Arcade was their favorite hangout spot to play video games, other than each other's homes.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" said Michael and the kids ran all the way to the Arcade. The building was dark but the sign still read open so the kids walked in. The only light in the place was the area where the actual arcade machines were, and the place seemed abandoned. Geoff shrugged it off and the kids marched to the games.

They laughed, cheered, and pushed each other as the games became more and more competitive. Lindsay looked around while she waited for her turn at the Street Fighter machine, which Ray was currently kicking Michael's ass at. She wondered why they hadn't seen a single kid, or adult for that matter since they'd arrived. The room felt very cold all of a sudden and she thought she heard a low moan coming from down the hall near the vending machines. 

Tugging on Geoff's shirt she pointed in that direction and looked worriedly at him.

"I think someone's down there! I heard something! Geoff they sounded hurt," she said with wide eyes. Geoff looked skeptically in the direction she pointed and then sighed. Following her down the hall they came to the vending machines, only to find that there was nobody there.

"I swear, I heard someone here!" Lindsay said.

"Maybe it was just a cat. Or maybe...a ghost!" Geoff said and started making spooky ghost noises. Lindsay frowned and pushed him.

"That's not funny Geoffrey!" she said but couldn't help the giggle that followed her words.

"Come on, there's nothing to be afraid of," Geoff said and led her back towards the others. As he did, the two children heard a low moan from behind them and whirled around just in time to see something disappearing behind a wall. Geoff glanced at Lindsay who crossed her arms and scowled at him.

"You were saying?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Shit! Let's get out of here!" Geoff said nervously. He grabbed Lindsay's hand and the two ran to the others who were still engrossed in their game.

"We gotta go boys!" said Geoff.

"But Geoffrey, I've almost beat Ryan!" complained Gavin and squawked as Ryan K.O.'d his character.

"Bollocks!" he screamed to the laughs of the kids watching.

"You owe me a milkshake Gavin," smirked Ryan enjoying his victory.

"Why do we have to leave Geoff? We just got here," asked Jack, looking concerned at the fear in his best friend's eyes. Geoff hesitated for a second.

"We saw a ghost!" said Lindsay coming to his rescue. The kids stared at them. Ray looked like he didn't believe them, Ryan gave Edgar a quick squeeze and swallowed, Gavin's eyes grew to the size of saucers, and Jack remained calm.

"Show us where you saw it," he said gently. Geoff and Lindsay led them to where they'd seen the ghost. No one was there.

"See? Nothing to worry about cause there's nothing here!" Ray said exasperated. Suddenly there was a loud moaning from further down the hallway. The kids turned and saw a white form drifting their way.

"The universe just loves to prove me wrong doesn't it?" Ray shouted and threw his hands into the air exasperated. The kids turned and ran towards the doors.

"They're bloody locked!" shouted Gavin as he tried desperately to open the doors.

"That's cause your pulling on a push door dumbass!" shouted Michael.

"Language!" scolded Ryan, Ray, and Lindsay. The boy rolled his eyes and pushed hard against the doors. Nothing.

"Okay, now they're bloody locked," he said. Gavin stuck his tongue out.

"This way!" yelled Geoff and led the Crew towards the arcade machines. The room was large and had plenty of hiding places for the kids. The group squatted behind a frogger machine and calmed their breathing as the ghost roamed around searching for them.

Ryan sighed and felt around for Edgar. His heart leapt into his throat and he looked around in a panic.

"What's wrong Ry?" asked Ray.

"Edgar! He's gone! I don't know where he is, I must've dropped him," said Ryan, panic and fear gripping him.

"Ryan he's a stuffed cow, just get another one! You don't want that ghost to get you!" said Geoff, knowing that he sounded harsh.

"You don't understand, I need Edgar!" Ryan said, his breathing becoming rapid. He could hear the laugh in his head and his head snapped towards the shadows. Edgar was the only one who could protect him.

"Please! Find him! Find him before it's too late!" Ryan cried and put his hands over his ears and started rocking back and forth, curling up to make himself as small as possible. Lindsay tried to calm him down.

"Guys we need to find Edgar, otherwise Ryan is going to lose his shit!" warned Ray.

"Language bitch!" cheered Michael happily, pointing at Ray.

"Wait, what's that?" asked Jack and pointed towards a machine close to the entrance. It was the claw machine.

"Edgar!" shouted Ryan and ran towards the machine. The others ran after him, warning him about the ghost. Ryan got to the machine and started looking for ways to get Edgar out.

"Wot are we going to do?" asked Gavin nervously, looking around for the ghost. Ray and Jack exchanged glances.

"We got this! Move aside!" yelled Jack and pushed his way to the machine. Geoff handed over the required quarter and Jack navigated the claw of the machine.

"Please save him!" cried Ryan, looking nervously around. The laugh was getting louder in his ears. Lindsay hugged him comfortingly. Jack concentrated, focusing on the cow. The claw fell and gripped Edgar.

"Almost got it," Jack said and eased the claw up with the joystick. Just as he was about to move the claw to the shoot Edgar fell.

"Damn it!" Jack yelled. Ryan whimpered.

"Step back bro, let the master work his magic!" Ray said, popping his knuckles and stepping up to the joystick. Geoff handed him a quarter and the boy set to work. It was like watching an artist in his natural element. Ray worked with the machine like a dancer with his partner, both moving in perfect sync.

"Ray, not to rush you bro, but now there's three ghosts. And they're coming towards us!" Geoff said nervously as he stared down the hallway at the approaching white figures.

"Make it stop! Please, I can't take it anymore!" shouted Ryan, still covering his ears, the laughter much louder now.

"Wot's wrong with Ryan?" asked Gavin. Lindsay shrugged and held Ryan tighter.

"Give me a minute, this is a process!" shouted Ray as he concentrated harder. The ghosts were closing in, only a few feet away. The room went silent, except for the moaning of the ghosts and the whimpering of Ryan. Suddenly there was another noise filling the air, a strange noise none of the others had heard. At least, none but Ryan.

Cackling laughter. 

The laughter was deep and dripped of evil. The others looked around confused, the ghosts stopped in their tracks hesitating, even Ray faltered slightly at the arcade. Lindsay gasped and backed away.

"It's...it's Ryan!" she said. The others looked to the boy who was huddled near the ground shaking. This shaking though wasn't from his crying, this was from the laughter racking his body. The others backed away except for Ray who was still focused on the game.

"Who dares approach me?" Ryan said, his voice much deeper now. The boy straightened up and glared at the ghosts who now seemed to be trembling.

"Who DARES approach the Mad King?!" Ryan yelled out, his voice sounding like thunder. The ghosts screamed. There was a scuffling and the three figures dressed in white threw off their coverings to reveal James, Adam, and Bruce, the Funhaus gang.

"What the fuck are you guys going here?" exclaimed Geoff.

"Pulling a prank on you losers!" yelled Adam.

"But fuck that! What's wrong with that kid?" shouted James. Ryan began laughing his evil cackling laugh again, causing everyone to cringe in fear.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! The better question to ask is...what's not wrong?" he snarled. The boy looked up, his eyes were now streaked with red. He looked terrifying. The Funhaus kids screamed and ran for the door, quickly pulling out the key they'd swiped and ran out into the street screaming. Ryan, still laughing whipped around to the Achievement Hunters. The kids cowered in fear, wondering what had happened to their friend.

"Ryan, what happened buddy? What's going on with you?" Lindsay asked, terrified.

"Ryan? Ryan's gone sweetheart. You're stuck with me now!" Ryan snarled evilly.

"I've got it! Victory is mine motherfuckers!" 

The Crew turned to see Ray pumping his hands into the air as Edgar dropped into the shoot. The boy ducked down, grabbed the toy and turned bravely towards his friend. A confidence they'd never seen before in his eyes.

"Ryan, I know you're in there buddy. I just wanted to tell you that Edgar's safe. See? Here he is. You don't have to be afraid anymore," Ray said softly as he walked right up to Ryan and held the stuffed cow in front of the boy's eyes. Ryan seemed to shrink away for a second, but Ray gently coaxed him back. The boy stared at the cow in front of him, his eyes slowly returning to normal. 

Ryan crumpled to the ground and the Crew gathered around him. Ray had him propped up, Edgar snuggled safely in the boy's grasp. Ryan sniffled and squeezed Edgar, then looked up.

"Is he gone? What happened?" he asked. The others looked at each other, trying to think of something to say.

"He's gone Ry, you're safe. Edgar is here now see? Everything is going to be alright," Ray said and gave his friend a hug. Ryan smiled.

"I'm glad. This has been a really weird Halloween. Where are the ghosts?" he asked.

"They're gone now Ryan. They got scared off," Geoff said. Ryan nodded and smiled.

"Anyone up for a game of Halo?" he asked. The kids laughed and agreed. The rest of the evening was spent with laughter and friendly competing.

"Oh, and Gavin?" Ryan asked.

"Wot's up Ryan?" 

"Don't think I forgot that you owe me a milkshake," Ryan said sternly. Gavin froze and laughed nervously.

"No problem Ryan. I'll get right on that!" Gavin squawked. The others laughed. This was definitely one of the weirdest Halloweens they'd ever had!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, this is my longest part of the series. Thanks for reading so far! Hope y'all are enjoying the series as much as I'm having fun writing it! Keep the ideas coming!


End file.
